Working Remotely

There is something strange going on. It was gradually happening before COVID-19, but now it seems most capable employees want the freedom to work from home. Companies are trying to reel us back in from the remote-work life but staying home and avoiding a commute feels better. We are settling into the new equilibrium, and we all get to participate in what this will look like. Let’s review some arguments for both sides.

Cases for working from home:

·       Productivity increases as there is more time for concentrated work. By cutting the commute and allowing for ideas to flow in the house past the normal working hours, so much more can be done when home is the office.

·       Employees are no longer being bothered by the water-cooler warriors who want to discuss sports for half an hour and then to only hear this same colleague repeat the same conversation with the next employee, making the rounds. Because remote employees are now more comfortable, better work can be done, and with less burnout.

·       As much as we would like to believe we work with all our friends, if we work in a big enough company for long enough, whether you are aware of it or not, you will run into people who will want you to fail. Staying home can benefit the workforce by not dealing with envious colleagues that are sending out subtle diminutive comments and looks that you can feel yourself reaching a boiling point. To be as productive as possible, amazing employees can really shine when they are not lost in the shuffle of office politics. Their confidence will grow instead of their insecurity by staying home and focusing on the work.

·       Employers will not need to spend as much money on floor space and utilities to have their employees on-site.

Cases for working from the office:

·       Productivity decreases when working from home because we cannot trust employees to be as disciplined at putting in the work. There is less resistance to staying in bed that extra bit, taking more frequent breaks to walk the dogs, or taking the kids to school and stopping at the coffee shop. The TV is too close and your favorite show might catch your eye for an episode.

·       Being all together makes spreading ideas and acting on them easier. There is a role for even the water-cooler talkative individuals as they can help increase the team comradery. There just needs to be limits set by the listener to ask the colleague to move on.

·       It’s not a surprise that people can be difficult and complex. Can we really expect to isolate clients, vendors, and managers only to those who truly wants your individual success? What about your competition? Having a rival in the office who you see daily can help sharpen your teeth, so you are ready to bite into the competing companies. When we are working from home all week, that can be the equivalent to a safe place that does not test your onsite communication skills.

·       Security becomes a real issue when employees are working from their home computers. Internet modems are shared with other family members and are easy targets. Saving files on a local computer makes confidentiality tough to maintain.  

Remote employees have moved closer to being subcontractors that still receive full employee benefits. It will generally be tough for employers to continue offering this as wages are increasing across the board to match inflation. We see that employers will be colder, and it will be so much easier to lay off ten to twenty percent of employees in a day to meet the bottom line. We would hope the productive employees will be in the spotlight whether they are in the office or at home.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. AIR Consulting is attempting to allow employees to work two out of five working days from home with their choice of workdays. We are trying to find a remote/onsite balance in work schedules as our employees have expressed such a desire. The company needs them, and they are as much part of the company culture as the managers who are trying to implement the values, rules, and procedures.

To the workforce out there, you get to decide what you want. This is a tug-of-war, and your vote/efforts will be counted. There are plenty of companies that are fully remote and others that are on-site mandatory. You will find mixes in policies and companies that will make exceptions if you ask. What an amazing time to be a part of the workforce. You get to choose what is important to you. As tight as things will become with a looming recession and job cuts, we can escape to start our own ventures easier than ever. Stay positive and persistent. There is always a way to your happiness, and it doesn’t have to be money driven. The freedom to work from the comfortability of your home for some is game-changing.